We are Emily & Andrew from San Diego, California. We want to thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We understand that this is a huge decision to make, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to tell you about ourselves. We think you are very brave and we are sending you love. We have always wanted to grow our family, but were unable to on our own. While infertility was difficult, we knew it was not the end of the road for us, and since we both come from blended families we were excited about pursuing adoption. To us, being parents means providing unconditional love, support, and stability, which is what we will offer your child. Ultimately, we believe that love makes a family -- and we have a lot of love to give.

Our story began 17 years ago when I walked up to Andrew at a party in college at San Diego State University and dramatically said, “Who are you?!” Since that night, our relationship has followed a very unique timeline. We waited 12 years to get married, but instead of having a big wedding to celebrate the milestone, we secretly eloped in Greece with two other tourists as our witnesses (don't worry, our families were happy for us)!

If we had to describe who we are as a couple in one sentence, it would be, "Work hard, play hard, and be grateful." We lead a simple, quiet life. We both work full-time and on weekends we like to spend time with our families, going to the movies, hiking, tending to our succulent garden, or taking our puppy to the beach. However, we also love to explore the world! We travel often--we've celebrated our birthdays in Peru, Paris, and Hawaii, and spent the holidays last year in New Zealand. We are grateful for all the opportunities we have had and look forward to continuing to learn about the world with our children.

I am a sports enthusiast. I love going to live sporting events with friends and family. Emily and I often travel to new cities to see their teams play. I was born in New York and still have family there, so I love cheering for my home teams, especially the Yankees.

I am a family man. My parents and siblings live nearby and we spend a lot of time together. Sunday BBQs, Super Bowl parties, and seafood cookouts on Christmas Eve are just a few of our typical traditions.

I am an animal lover. I grew up in a house that always had pets including cats, dogs, birds, fish, lizards, and chickens. We have San Diego Zoo passes and like to visit the exotic animals.

Andrew is a unique combination of silly and serious. He loves to make people laugh, usually by doing very accurate impressions. He is one of those people who always does the right thing and puts others first. He is very good with kids. When we are babysitting, you can find him leading the kids in elaborate games of pretend. He will set an example for our kids of what it means to be kind and compassionate.

I am an adventure lover. I was raised in a military family that moved every two years and spent vacations camping off the grid. It is probably because of my upbringing that I love to hike, swim, camp, and spend time outdoors. I recently hiked over 100 miles in Iceland by myself.

I love learning! I am a University Professor and a scientist. I teach courses in public health and social work and I study how to help individuals who suffer from mental health issues. I love my flexible schedule and ability to work from home.

I give back. I think it is important to give back to my community. I bake and decorate birthday cakes for foster kids, mentor first-gen students, and volunteer at a food bank monthly.

Emily is hard working, but also makes time to enjoy life--she can be the life of the party! She is always trying to improve the lives of others as a teacher and volunteer. As a mom, Emily will feel right at home, offering genuine love to your child.
 

Your child will be warmly welcomed into a big, rowdy family! Andrew is very close to his brothers Adam, Alex, and Tommy. His entire immediate family, including four of our nieces and nephews, lives in Southern California. We do family dinners once a month and spend most holidays with them.

Emily has two sisters who are also her best friends, Eli and Sara. She also has four stepsisters (so. many. girls!). Her family is spread across the country, with her parents and one sister in Seattle, another sister and a niece and nephew in Arizona, and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Chicago and Tennessee. We host family members from out of town several times a year and we love to visit Emily's parents as often as possible.

We live in a quiet neighborhood in central San Diego, California about 15 minutes from downtown and the beach. Our neighborhood has a lot of young families from all different backgrounds. We have top-rated elementary and middle schools within walking distance from our house. Also nearby are several large parks and playgrounds, which makes it easy for us to take our dog to the park almost every day. We bought our house over ten years ago and have worked hard to fix it up (Emily loves decorating!). Our future children will have their own rooms and a spacious yard to play in.

Rosie is a Vizsla, which is a breed nicknamed "the velcro dog" because they are so loyal. Rosie lives up to this, as she loves nothing more than to cuddle, chase, kiss, and tease any human she sees. We hope to always have a house full of kids and animals to keep things fun! Rosie will be a great companion for your child.

Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us. It's difficult to find the right words to explain who we are and who we will be as parents. We have a lot of ideas about how we will raise children but when it comes down to it, all we know for sure is that we will love them unconditionally.